Monday, May 19, 2014

Episode 23: Red Nails (Or,"A Gang War in T-Town")



Conan Red Nails: dibujo a carboncillo
Artist unknown
"The city looked very far away across the plain, farther than it had looked from the crag. Valeria's heart hammered until she felt as if it would strangle her. At every step she expected to hear the crashing of the bushes and see another colossal nightmare bearing down upon them. But nothing disturbed the silence of the thickets.
With the first mile between them and the woods, Valeria breathed more easily. Her buoyant self-confidence began to thaw out again. The sun had set and darkness was gathering over the plain, lightened a little by the stars that made stunted ghosts out of the cactus growths.
“No cattle, no plowed fields,” muttered Conan. “How do these people live?”
“Perhaps the cattle are in pens for the night,” suggested Valeria, “and the fields and grazing-pastures are on the other side of the city.”
“Maybe,” he grunted. “I didn't see any from the crag, though.”
The moon came up behind the city, etching walls and towers blackly in the yellow glow. Valeria shivered. Black against the moon the strange city had a somber, sinister look..."

Our tale this week is Red Nails, the last of the original Conan stories written by Robert E. Howard (Read it on Project Gutenberg). It features Valeria, who is easily one of the most interesting secondary characters that we've encountered in a Conan story so far!

Evidently, there was an animated adaptation of this movie that was cancelled at some point during development. We found some test animation on YouTube for you to check out, along with a wallpaper depicting character designs for the film. It seems that they were serious about producing a quality, gritty adaptation of the source material. What do you think?

 
 
 
This is a bittersweet moment, as we have nearly reached the end of the Road of Kings! Don't worry, we're going to keep on bringing you The Cromcast! Listen for our announcement for Season 2 toward the end of this episode!

Our next episode will cover the film "Conan the Barbarian" from 1982. In the next couple of weeks, pop in your copy of the movie, pop some popcorn, immerse yourself in that epic Basil Poledouris score, and settle in for a movie night. Then, join us for a discussion of the film! Let us know what you think of it!

While you're waiting for that episode to drop, be sure to check out Far Fetched Fables and the other District of Wonders podcasts!

We'll see you next time, By Crom!
 
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Beginning theme: "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Episode 22: The Hour of the Dragon (Part 2)


This week, we finish our discussion of the only Conan novel written by Robert E. Howard, "The Hour of the Dragon." (Read it on Project Gutenberg!)

Cover to the Lancer edition, by Frank Frazetta

When last we left our hero Conan, he was searching for The Heart of Ahriman, the metaphorical heart of his kingdom. This episode picks up with Conan's pursuit of this ancient and powerful magical artifact. Meanwhile, Xaltotun the Ancient is showing his true ambitions - the full resurrection of ancient Acheron! This story culminates in an exciting battle that you won't want to miss! Let us know what you think of the story!

Only one more stop along the Road of Kings - Red Nails! (Read it on Project Gutenberg!)

Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)
You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes!

Beginning theme: "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0